Trinity Sunday 2021

The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of the Christian faith. Although the word is not found as such in Holy Scripture, the concept is clearly found there, in as explicit language as can be imagined without using the specific term.

The word, 'Trinity', is a word wrapper, a 'verbal box', so to speak, used to contain the concept that God is truly One in 'substance', but Three in 'persons'. The most direct reference to the Trinity in scripture can be found in Matthew 29:19

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:"

Another place where all three persons are evident is at the Lord's baptism, Matthew 3:16-17

"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Here we see all three persons: The Holy Spirit descending from heaven, the Lord Jesus in the water, and the Father speaking from heaven.

Also, consider how each person is spoken of as distinct from each other in Christ's discourse in John 14-16:

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

We can also develop the concept by considering together certain truths shown in scripture which, when juxtaposed with each other, clearly illustrate the concept of One God and Three Persons. That there is one and only one God is foundational to the religion of Israel. Isaiah 43:10 declares

"Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me."

And Isaiah 45:5 restates the same

"I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me:"

Establishing that there is only one God leads to the deeper revelation received in the New Testament, where each of the three persons are shown to be God, and also shown to be separate and distinct.

The most obvious statement of the divinity of the Lord Jesus is found in John chapter 1, verses 1-3, and 10

"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not."

Also, virtually the entire first chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews has repeated references to the divinity of the Son of God. For example:

Heb 1:6 "And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him."

1:8 "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever"

Most of the rest of the chapter has such an exalted understanding of the person of the Son that His divinity is only further strengthened.

We also find declarations of the Son's divinity in Paul's epistles.

Colossians 2:9 "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."

Philippians 2:6 "Who, being in the form of God"

Also compare the language speaking of 'God our Saviour' and 'our Saviour Jesus Christ' in 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy:

1 Timothy 1:1 "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour . . ."

1 Timothy 2:3 "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour"

1 Timothy 4:10 "For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe."

2 Timothy 1:10 ". . . made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ . . ."

Compare with Isaiah 43:11 "I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour."

Consider how Paul refers to God and the Lord Jesus using the same language in the epistle to Titus:

Titus 1:3, 4 "But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour; To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour."

Titus 2:10, 13 "Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. . . . Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"

Titus 3:4, 6 "But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, . . . Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;"

Paul, being an educated Pharisee, would have been familiar with Isaiah 43:11 "I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour."

In the Revelation, we find the Lord Jesus receiving titles and descriptions ascribed to Yahweh alone in the Old Testament.

Rev 1:8 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

1:11 "Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last:" Compare with Isaiah 44:6 "Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."

and Isaiah 48:12 "Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last."

Compare Rev 19:11-16 Isaiah 63:1-6:

Revelation 19:11-16

11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.

Isaiah 63:1-6

1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.

2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?

3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.

4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.

5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.

6 And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.

After these vivid attributions of divinity to the Lord Jesus, we can find references to the Holy Ghost. Although less explicit, they are clear enough. In 1 Corinthians 2:10, we see that the Spirit is privy to the secret things of God:

"God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."

Christians are described as His 'temple' in 1 Corinthians 6:19.

"know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost"

A temple is where worship is rendered, and only God deserves a temple.

The Spirit is also directly involved in the sanctification and justification of the Christian:

1 Corinthians 6:11 ". . . ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

We also should consider the way the Holy Ghost is spoken of as a person, "He", in the priestly discourse in the Gospel according to John.

We can see that the basic underlying truths that comprise the doctrine of the Trinity are contained in the New Testament, and are even more strengthened by the roots of those truths in the Old Testament.

These truths were taught by the earliest Christians. The baptismal affirmations of the earliest church show that the Trinitarian understanding was held from the beginning. The Doxology we know as "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. . ." appears in various forms in many of the earliest church Fathers, ascribing worship ("Glory be . . .") to all three persons as God.

We can say that the doctrine of the Trinity is a 'mystery'. That is to say, it is something that could not have been known but by divine revelation, and even being revealed is only partially understood. Many heresies over the centuries have come not from totally bizarre false teachings, but from men who thought they understood somewhat more than they actually did. Arius attempted to define the divinity of the Son and His relation to the Father, and was rejected by the Council of Nicaea in 325. It took a few hundred years to totally purge that mistaken 'understanding' from the church. Our own patron, St. Athanasius, was one of the defenders of the Catholic doctrine of the Trinity. It was at this council that the Nicene Creed was initially promulgated. Various material was added by subsequent councils, until we have the form we use today in our liturgy.

This diagram illustrates the simple truths underlying the Trinity:

There is ONE God, not three.

The Father IS God.

The Son IS God.

The Spirit IS God.

The Father IS NOT the Son, and IS NOT the Spirit.

The Son IS NOT the Father, and IS NOT the Spirit.

The Spirit IS NOT the Son, and IS NOT the Father.

One 'what', three 'whos'.

The Athanasian Creed hammers this concept by repeating it in many ways. (This creed was attributed to Athanasius, but was most likely not actually composed by him.)